Main navigation

When Politicians Mourn: From Maurice Sendak to MCA

What does it take for a president to care about you when you die? I mean, there are some obvious deaths that all presidents will pay attention to. Obama will never forget that warm spring day last year when he ordered Seal Team 6 to put a bullet in Osama bin Laden’s head and burn him alive. But most deaths aren’t so morbid, they are simply sad events that a president or a White House feel compelled to comment on.

So I must admit, it is rather strange that with two major celebrities going to the other side in recent weeks, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys and Maurice Sendak author of “Where the Wild Things Are,” which one the White House commented on.

When Maurice Sendak passed away the Obama White House made it a point to show their sadness at his passing. This wasn’t an example of cheap ghoulish publicity – Obama has commented many times over the years how “Where the Wild Things Are” is one of his favorite books of all time and he’s read the book at several of the White House Easter Egg rolls including this past April.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney released the statement “Every parent must be in mourning today and every child. It’s a sad day,” even though he was flying across the country on Air Force 1.

The Obama White House has also released statements on some of the other major celebrity deaths this year, including Whitney Houston, and yes even Heavy D. Yet the president hasn’t said a thing about the passing of Adam Yauch, A.K.A. MCA of the Beastie Boys who died after a long battle with cancer last week. Now, I doubt that this is some racially or politically motivated oversight. Washington Times columnist Joseph Curl bent himself over backwards trying to make White House silence over MCA’s passing a racial and cultural critique of Obama which was preposterous.

However, in light of the outpouring of emotion from the White House over Sendak’s passing it does make the silence over Yauch all the more interesting since it’s well known that President Obama is a Hip-Hop fan. Then again, Obama didn’t say anything about Don Cornelius and he was a million times more influential than the Beasties or Heavy D. So it might just be a matter of preference. Or, there could have been issue with the fact Cornelius committed suicide, something that created a firestorm of controversy and debate within the African American community.

Like this:

Primary Sidebar

MSNBC Contributor

Find Me On Social

Follow me on Twitter

Footer

About Jason Johnson

Dr. Jason Johnson is a professor, political analyst and public speaker. Fresh, unflappable, objective, he is known for his ability to break down stories with wit and candor. Johnson is the author the book Political Consultants and Campaigns: One Day to Sell, a tenured professor in the School of Global Journalism & Communication at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland and Politics Editor at TheRoot.com. Dr. Johnson has an extensive public speaking and media background ranging from … [Read More...] about About Jason Johnson